“In parts of the world where repressive governments control the Internet with unassailable firewalls, netizens don't see the same web that people in other countries can.

Now, Google wants to give people in these countries a tool to circumvent those invisible barriers, and defeat censorship. Called uProxy, it is meant to be an easy-to-use, peer-to-peer gateway to the open Internet. With uProxy installed, somebody in Iran could use a friend's Internet to connect with him or her.” READ MORE

“African civil society organisations and a coalition of leading international development organisations have called for global policymakers to adopt measures to counter the hundreds of billions of dollars siphoned out of the continent through money laundering and industrial scale corporate tax avoidance.

“The recent Social Good Summit, presented by Mashable and the United Nations Foundation, conveyed a technological call to action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) and create the post-2015 development agenda. To that end, the conference utilized the tagline and Twitter handle #2030NOW. The conference was streamed live worldwide, creating a widespread audience able to contribute to the dialogue, with forums readily available for expressing views and ideas.

As evidenced by the many facets of technology utilized at the summit, endless technological advances are shaping the world. In March, the United Nations revealedthat more people (six out of seven billion) own a mobile phone than the 4.5 billion who have access to a toilet. Technology has effectively fostered a culture of social media and hyper-communication, but how exactly are technology and communications already working to create a better world?” READ MORE

“The world is changing. The United Nations Development Programme projects that by 2020, “the combined economic output of three leading developing countries alone – Brazil, China and India – will surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.”

The growing importance of emerging markets means their impact is felt broadly around the world. Thus it is important companies from emerging markets do all they can to stop corruption from being a part of their business. As markets become global, the ethical and transparency standards of companies must become higher and more universally applied.” READ MORE

You've no doubt heard of the mobile phone revolution sweeping Sub-Saharan Africa — perhaps mobile money transfer, or mHealth. The hope is that mobile technologies will transform lives by improving health, education, finance and women's position in society.

However, as knowledge management expert Piers Bocock notes, there is a vast disconnect between the companies that produce and market these technologies and on-the-ground implementers — with the hype perhaps best exemplified by former US President Bill Clinton.” READ MORE

“Governments exist “by and for the people”. The data they collect (or fund others to collect) in the course of carrying out their statutory duties also belongs to the people, and in the 21st century it is fast becoming one of the most valuable public goods we have – yet it often remains inaccessible or unaffordable to the vast majority. The Global Open Data Initiative aims to make Government data openly available to all – available for anyone, anywhere to download, use, re-use and redistribute without charge for any purpose. We welcome government and multi-stakeholder efforts to advance open government data, and we seek to contribute to their success. However, to ensure that such efforts deliver real and sustained benefits for citizens, it is essential that civil society comes to the table with its own strong vision, ideals and demands. The Global Open Data Initiative seeks to engage and unite as broad a civil society constituency in a shared vision of the role of open data in accountable, inclusive and participatory governance.” READ MORE